


i for indifference, j for jealousy

by tangentiallly



Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: F/F, POV Third Person Limited, Pre-Canon, character dynamics study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-07
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:01:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27927181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tangentiallly/pseuds/tangentiallly
Summary: a quick study of vfd ladies dynamics/drama
Relationships: Beatrice Baudelaire/Esmé Squalor, Georgina Orwell/Esmé Squalor
Comments: 4
Kudos: 12





	i for indifference, j for jealousy

**Author's Note:**

> disclaimer: i do not own ASOUE

the thing that annoys beatrice about georgina is how unimpressed, how unaffected by beatrice’s presence she is. beatrice knows how to deal with hate, deal with jealousy, deal with petty reactions. she handles esme’s mean comments just fine - thrives on them, actually. she thrives on stealing esme’s stuff just like esme steals her stuff, thrives on winning arguments against esme, thrives on the fact that esme loses her cool around her, thrives on them goading each other.

it’s messy, and she doesn’t always win, and she’s definitely suffered losses sometimes, but there’s a thrill there, it makes her feel alive, it confirms to her that as much as esme gets on her nerves, as furious as she feels sometimes when esme gets the upper hand, that the reverse is also true. that she has the same effect on esme. the tension and the conflict spice things up in a delicious way, and beatrice not only knows how to handle that, but also enjoys it very much.

georgina, though. georgina is cold and unmoved and eternally composed. she’s vaguely condescending towards and blatantly uninterested in beatrice. and it wouldn’t have annoyed beatrice so much - since georgina’s a good few years older than her, they barely run in the same circles anyway - if not for the fact that georgina seems to actually be quite fond of esme. well - as fond as a cold, emotionless optometrist could be anyway, beatrice thinks.

georgina even laughs at esme’s jokes sometimes. completely unfunny and boring and bland jokes that she doesn’t see how anyone can laugh at it at all, that doesn’t even make sense, that leads to no clever punchlines that beatrice can think of.

“i think those are inside jokes,” r says reasonably. beatrice does _not_ want to be reasonable about this. she also does not want to be seen as unreasonable about this, which is slightly inconvenient.

so she pouts at r, who looks fondly exasperated for a moment. “beatrice,” she sighs, and then exchanges a glance with kit.

kit continues for r, “are you sure you’re not just annoyed that they have inside jokes you’re not part of?”

beatrice dodges the question. “you don’t like esme either. nor georgina.”

kit shrugs. “exactly. which is why i cannot care less if those two have inside jokes of their own, or want to spend time with each other. that’s doing the rest of us a favor for not having to deal with them, i would say.”

“but maybe they’re conspiring against us,” beatrice says indignantly. “we should be wary of that and keep an eye on them. what if they’re talking in codes? what if those things we don’t understand are them actually secretly communicating about how they’re going to bring down the organization?”

kit rolls her eyes. “i hardly think that’s possible. esme didn’t get the same training as us, and she hates books, and secret codes, as she’s declared many times. so you don’t need to worry about it.”

as olivia listens on quietly - because that’s what she’s best at, staying quiet and making everyone else forget she’s there - and suddenly feels a sense of deja vu. she frowns to herself quietly, trying to remember when she’s seen something similar before.

and then it clicks in her mind, it’s the way georgina talked about beatrice the last time olivia was hanging out with her and esme. esme complained about beatrice being terrible and said beatrice is someone they need to be wary of, because beatrice is slippery and cunning and a thief. georgina was dismissive of beatrice as a threat, saying drily, “you need to get over your obsession with her, esme dear. she’s not that important, she’s just a petty small time actress.”

it occurs to olivia, that how kit sees esme is similar to how georgina sees beatrice - an unimportant player who one doesn’t need to spend time worrying about. kit is condescending towards esme in a way that vfd members are usually trained to view non members who never received the same training. she may be nice about it to most, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t a little elitist about it. (just like her brother jacques, who while being a gentleman to jerome, sees him as someone he needs to protect rather than an equal. in jacques’s defense, olivia has to admit, jerome squalor truly looks like someone who needs protection.)

similarly, georgina is dismissive of beatrice and views her just as a petty, unimportant actress. she’s indulgent of esme continuing waging a war against beatrice, but she herself thinks of beatrice as more of a nuisance than a rival or a threat.

satisfied with the conclusion she’s drawn, olivia carefully files this information away in her head.

she feels like someday this would come in handy.

* * *

georgina orwell is confident, professional, talented at what she does, and she knows it. it’s a fact of life, as sure as gravity and basic math theorems. she knows her worth and she doesn’t get jealous of other people, mostly because they’re not worth her time, mostly because they’re hardly on the same level as her and definitely not worthy of any envy, mostly because she’s better than them.

when it comes to things like relationships, georgina is as practical about it as she’s with everything else. esme and her have an open relationship that benefits them both, and she’s never been jealous of esme’s other lovers or flings. georgina dislikes neediness, enjoys her own freedom, and needs her own time to focus on work as well. she also enjoys occasional dalliances outside of her relationship with esme.

so she never cares when esme sleeps with olivia caliban for information, or when she flirts with geraldine julienne to _plant_ information, or when esme tries to marry any rich bachelor with penthouses.

jealousy is an emotion for lesser people, georgina decided long ago. it’s not for people like herself, smart and mature and professional.

which is why, of course, that georgina is not jealous of beatrice baudelaire - a vain, loud, and self-righteous actress who isn’t worth georgina’s time.

no, she just finds her annoying. insipid. hypocritical. boring while thinking herself as interesting. a little girl trying to play in the major league. georgina finds nothing but vague disdain towards beatrice baudelaire, who likes lecturing people on the morality of hypnotizing others and yet doesn’t have a problem with carrying out morally ambiguous missions for vfd. a bit like kit snicket, but worse. far, far worse. because kit snicket at least has talents georgina can respect, such as build a submarine, meanwhile beatrice only knows how to act, and can’t even do it well, in georgina’s opinion.

and because kit snicket doesn’t spark a strong reaction from her esme. sure, esme doesn’t like snicket, but it’s the same way esme doesn’t like most volunteers. but when it comes to beatrice baudelaire, esme always seems to loses her cool. there’s a tension between them that georgina does not like. the way beatrice brings out a certain overly passionate esme irks georgina, for some reason. it irks georgina more than any of esme’s flings irk her.

it’s probably because beatrice baudelaire is more annoying than any of them. more present in esme’s life than any of esme’s brief flings. also just generally because she’s a boring, self righteous volunteer who thinks she knows best.

georgina is not jealous of beatrice baudelaire, because that would be preposterous. ludicrous. an idea that doesn’t even need to be entertained. no, she just finds her bothersome, and wishes that she can just shut up and stay away from esme.

that is all.

it’s perfectly reasonable, and professional, and logical.

just like the way georgina orwell does everything.

**Author's Note:**

> [come say hi on tumblr](https://beatricebidelaire.tumblr.com)


End file.
